H.R. 3199, the “USA Patriot Improvement and Re-authorization Act of 2005,” requires the Attorney General to “take the steps necessary to ensure that reports of cargo theft collected by Federal, state, and local officials are reflected as a separate category in the [FBI] Uniform Crime Reporting system...” In response to this mandate, the Criminal Justice Information Services Advisory Policy Board approved a definition for cargo theft in December 2006. It was developed, not as a legal definition for prosecutorial purposes, but to capture the essence of the national cargo theft crime problem and its negative effect on the economy of the United States. The legal elements of knowledge and intent were intentionally omitted. For Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program purposes, cargo theft is defined as follows:

Cargo Theft is the criminal taking of any cargo including, but not limited to, goods, chattels, money, or baggage that constitutes, in whole or in part, a commercial shipment of freight moving in commerce, from any pipeline system, railroad car, motortruck, or other vehicle, or from any tank or storage facility, station house, platform, or depot, or from any vessel or wharf, or from any aircraft, air terminal, airport, aircraft terminal or air navigation facility, or from any intermodal container, intermodal chassis, trailer, container freight station, warehouse, freight distribution facility, or freight consolidation facility. For purposes of this definition, cargo shall be deemed as moving in commerce at all points between the point of origin and the final destination, regardless of any temporary stop while awaiting transshipment or otherwise.

The national UCR Program recently adopted a revised record layout containing a new data element, 2A Cargo Theft. This data element is located in the Administrative Segment of the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) to flag the incident as a cargo theft. In addition, this data element is mandatory for specific crimes against property, which are applicable to cargo theft. This addendum defines the new NIBRS data element, entry requirements, error messages, and programming changes to collect cargo theft data in the context of the current NIBRS manuals. New and revised information in the affected excerpts are shown in bold. These changes will be incorporated into future NIBRS publication revisions.

As of January 1, 2010, the FBI will begin the implementation phase by initially accepting test data which captures this data element. Once these data become validated and certified, they will be processed and subsequently included in the NIBRS Flat File. Although the FBI is mandated to collect cargo theft data, state and local law enforcement agencies are not required to report cargo theft data to the national UCR Program. The FBI must rely upon the “good faith” reporting efforts of its voluntary contributors to make the cargo theft data collection a reality. Therefore, the FBI’s UCR Program encourages all NIBRS state UCR Programs and agencies to update their software to incorporate this new data element for identifying incidents of cargo theft. The FBI anticipates that it could take 18 to 24 months for state UCR Programs and agencies to implement these software changes. Participating agencies should note that implementation of the new NIBRS data element must be consistent among all reporting agencies within a state. Therefore, either all or none of the agencies that report NIBRS data within a state must report cargo theft data via the new NIBRS data element.

Contents

This document furnishes information regarding the submission of cargo theft data into the NIBRS. Its purpose is to provide an addendum to the following documents:

Volume 1: Data Collection Guidelines (August 2000)
This document contains a system overview and descriptions of the offenses,
offense codes, reports, data elements, and data values used in the system

Volume 2: Data Submission Specifications (November 2001)
This document contains the data submission instructions for electronic media,
record layouts, and error-handling procedures that must be followed in submitting
electronic media to the FBI for NIBRS reporting purposes.

(1) Group “A” Incident Report -- Incident reports are submitted for Group “A” offenses. A list of the Group “A” offenses can be found in subsection G on pages 10 and 11. Group “A” Incident Reports are made up of 6 segments and 57 data elements, as shown on the following pages.

This segment contains administrative data that are applicable to the entire incident report (e.g., the identifying number assigned to the incident and the date and hour the incident occurred). A single Administrative Segment should be submitted for each reported incident.

2A Cargo Theft - 1 character (A): This data element is to be used to indicate whether or not the incident involved a cargo theft. This data element can only be entered when the incident has at least one of the following offenses:

Note: If multiple offenses occurred within an incident and one was associated with a cargo theft, then Y = Yes must be entered. In each of the following scenarios, Y = Yes must be entered.

Note: In each of the following scenarios, it shall be assumed that all cargo is moving in commerce at all points between the point of origin and the final destination, regardless of any temporary stop while awaiting transshipment or otherwise.

Example (1): An armed suspect hijacked an 18-wheeler and kidnapped the driver (UCR Offense Codes 100 and 120). The suspect then transferred the stolen cargo to another trailer.

Example (2): Four men wearing ski masks conducted armed robbery at a trucking facility (UCR Offense Code 120). Two of the men held up the guards while the other two men hot wired a tractor trailer and drove off with the cargo.

Example (3): A suspect was employed at a wholesale tobacco warehouse. After hours, the employee used his key to gain entry into the warehouse and removed 4,000 cartons of cigarettes (UCR Offense Code 270). The inventory was slated for shipment to local retailers.

Example (4): A delivery driver stopped at a truck stop for a short break and exited, leaving the vehicle unattended. A short time later, the driver returned to the vehicle and discovered the cargo missing from the box truck (UCR Offense Code 23F).

Example (5): Unknown suspects entered the terminal grounds of Carrier XYZ by cutting a section of fence. The suspects then broke into a loaded trailer and removed the cargo (UCR Offense Code 23H).

Example (6): The driver of an 18-wheeler accepted a bribe to “look the other way” while his load of cargo was being “stolen” (UCR Offense Code 510).

Example (7): Two individuals worked for Company Y, loading and unloading cargo. Employee A discovered that Employee B was using drugs on the job. Employee A threatened to reveal this criminal activity to their employer. As payment for keeping silent, Employee A demanded a partial shipment of plasma TVs (UCR Offense Code 210).

Example (8): The owner/driver of a tractor trailer stopped at a post office to check his mail, leaving the truck running and unlocked. When he returned, both the rig and cargo were gone (UCR Offense Code 240).

Example (9): An air cargo worker stole a shipment of military supplies from an all-cargo aircraft, which was scheduled for delivery to military personnel oversees (UCR Offense Code 23H).

Example (10): A suspect, posing as an indirect air carrier employee (UCR Offense Code 26C) picked up a load of cargo from a consolidation facility, which was slated for delivery to an airport sorting center.

Example (11): Five suspects entered a slow-moving freight train, which was transporting cargo from the freight yard to numerous destinations. The suspects used various tools to break into the shipping containers. The merchandise was then thrown off the train, and accomplices on the ground gathered the stolen merchandise (UCR Offense Code 220).

Example (12): A suspect worked on the dock at a port facility, loading and unloading cargo containers. After hours, the suspect entered the shipping yard and stole a chassis and intermodal container loaded with automobile tires (UCR Offense Code 23H).

Example (13): An employee used the Internet to gain unauthorized access to the shipping records for Company ABC. The employee then obtained corporate credit card information and pre-paid the freight fees for a shipment of imported wines (UCR Offense Code 26B). Via computer, the suspect illegally diverted the shipment to an alternate address (UCR Offense Code 26E).

Additional data elements are applicable to certain Group “A” offenses and are in addition to the Group “A” Incident Report - Common Data Elements listed on pages 110-112. They complete the data element reporting requirements for the individual offenses. These must be entered for the specified offense.

Note: This Addendum references the November 2001 edition of NIBRS Volume 2. This edition is not available in hard-copy format; however, a Portable Document Format (PDF) file can be located online at: http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/nibrs/manuals/v2all.pdf.

Must have a binary value of 87 in positions 1 and 2 and binary zeros in positions 3 and 4. For floppy disks, enter numeric 0087.

Note: If Data Element 2A = Cargo Theft is used, must have a binary value of 88 in positions 1 and 2 and binary zeros in positions 3 and 4. For floppy disks, enter numeric 0088.

Once the first submission is received that incorporates the new Administrative Segment length (88), all subsequent submissions must conform to the new length.

5

1

A

SEGMENT LEVEL

Designates this as an Administrative Segment.

Valid Code: 1.

6

1

A

SEGMENT ACTION TYPE

Instructs the FBI as to what kind of database activity is to be performed.

Valid Codes: I, M, D, and W.

7-8

2

A

MONTH OF TAPE (01 through 12)

Depending on unload procedures, this is either the month of the update activity or the month the magnetic media was created. Section I, subsection D contains information on the creation of monthly magnetic media.

9-12

4

A

YEAR OF TAPE - e.g., 1995

Year in which the Month of Tape falls.

13-16

4

A

CITY INDICATOR

This field is used for cities submitting directly to the FBI because the state does not participate in NIBRS.

Valid Code: The FBI will assign a participation indicator for those agencies meeting the requirements for direct submission to the FBI.

1

17-25

9

A

ORI/FID NUMBER

Valid NCIC ORI number. For state/local agency submissions, the last two positions must be 00. Federal departments must use their assigned two‑ character Federal Identifier code.

2

26-37

12

A

INCIDENT NUMBER

Left-justified with blank right-fill.

Example:

89-13456

89T123456789

3

38-45

8

A

INCIDENT DATE

In the format of YYYYMMDD, e.g., 19950328. If the Incident Date is unknown, enter Report Date. Refer to Incident Hour, below, for times occurring exactly at midnight.

46

1

A

REPORT DATE INDICATOR

Must be R = Report, if entered. Enter only if the Report Date was entered in the Incident Date; otherwise, leave blank.

47-48

2

A

INCIDENT HOUR

Enter time in military hours only; do not enter minutes. If hour is unknown, leave blank. If incident occurred on or between midnight and 0059, enter 00; on or between 0100 and 0159, enter 01; on or between 2300 and 2359, enter 23; etc.

Note: If an incident occurred at exactly midnight, this should be considered the beginning of the next day (i.e., as if the crime occurred at 1 minute past midnight).

4

49

1

A

CLEARED EXCEPTIONALLY

Valid Codes: A, B, C, D, E, and N.

5

50-57

8

A

EXCEPTIONAL CLEARANCE DATE

In the format of YYYYMMDD, e.g., 19950301.

The Data That Follow (In Positions 58-87) Are Applicable Only When a Segment Action Type W Segment Is Being Submitted or Is Being Modified:

Additional Data Elements are applicable to certain Group “A” offenses and are in addition to the Group “A” Incident Report - Common Data Elements listed on pages 110-112. They complete the data element reporting requirements for the individual offenses. These must be entered for the specified offense.

3) Data Element 2A (Cargo Theft) can only be entered when the incident contains a UCR Offense Code of:

120

=

Robbery

23D

=

Theft From Building

23F

=

Theft From Motor Vehicle

23H

=

All Other Larceny

26A

=

False Pretenses/Swindle/Confidence Game

26B

=

Credit Card/Automatic Teller Machine Fraud

26C

=

Impersonation

26E

=

Wire Fraud

210

=

Extortion/Blackmail

220

=

Burglary/Breaking & Entering

240

=

Motor Vehicle Theft

270

=

Embezzlement

510

=

Bribery

(119)

C. Global Edits

Administrative Segment Edits

23.1

ADMINISTRATIVE SEGMENT MUST BE 87 CHARACTERS OR
88 CHARACTERS LONG

Administrative Segments can be only 87 characters (no cargo theft data) or
88 characters (has the potential to contain cargo theft data). A submission must be formatted only in one of these two lengths.

Data Element 2A (Cargo Theft) can only be entered when the UCR Offense Code is:

120

=

Robbery

23D

=

Theft From Building

23F

=

Theft From Motor Vehicle

23H

=

All Other Larceny

26A

=

False Pretenses/Swindle/Confidence Game

26B

=

Credit Card/Automatic Teller Machine Fraud

26C

=

Impersonation

26E

=

Wire Fraud

210

=

Extortion/Blackmail

220

=

Burglary/Breaking & Entering

240

=

Motor Vehicle Theft

270

=

Embezzlement

510

=

Bribery

178

THIS ADMINISTRATIVE SEGMENT HAS A CONFLICTING LENGTH

The Administrative Segment is not the same physical length as the first Administrative Segment submitted. All Administrative Segments within a submission must be formatted the same.

Also, once the first submission is received that incorporates the new Administrative Segment length (88), all subsequent submissions must then conform to the new length.

Note: Incorporating the new Administrative Segment length of 88 means that any incident with an offense code of 120, 23D, 23F, 23H, 26A, 26B, 26C, 26E, 210, 220, 240, 270, or 510 must have a Y = Yes or N = No in position 88 to be accepted. Conversely, any incident without these offenses must have a blank in position 88.